


Through The Sun and The Storm

by skzthusiasttt



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bang Chan is a Good Hyung, But Minho is so patient, Chan and Changbin are music majors, Changbin is trying to get them together, Childhood Friends, Everyone is super smart, Excuse my horrible time skips, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Han Jisung | Han is Oblivious, Han Jisung | Han is Whipped, Hyunjin is dramatic as always, I do not give permission for this work to be reproduced in any way, It doesn't go all the way to smut because I don't write that lol, Jisung gets flustered easily, Jisung misunderstands the situation, Kissing, M/M, Making Out, Marking, OT8, Stray kids doesn't exist but 3racha does, The rest of Stray Kids is so fed up, but not really, but this is very Jisung and Minho centric, changbin is too, everyone knows something's going on except jisung and minho, idk how to tag, minho is a sweetheart, please excuse my weird POV stuff, so is minho for that matter, the others are crazy little adorable fluffballs, this is my first fic, we kind of see them grow up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:27:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27553042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skzthusiasttt/pseuds/skzthusiasttt
Summary: .It wasn’t Jisung's intention to fall in love with Minho.But what could he do if that was his cruel fate?.Ever since he met Minho, Jisung's feelings had only gotten stronger with each passing year. And he didn't want to be the delusional person who believed that his best friend actually might have feelings for him, too. So he didn't bother doing anything. Until fate forced him to, of course.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 2
Kudos: 108





	Through The Sun and The Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Hi stays/anyone who's passing by, this is my first ever fanfic, and I'm so glad it gets to be Minsung! I literally broke my back leaning over my laptop working on this, and it's been on and off for like a month because of college apps (smfh). This story has a mention of applications since I'm currently going through those, so consider it stress relief?? Idk I'm just so tired lol.  
> WARNING: Firstly, I wanted to say that this work has kissing and making out. There's implied sexual content, so if that makes anyone uncomfortable, there's the warning.  
> I've been lurking on ao3 as a reader for a while and I really wanted to create something of my own after I saw how amazing all the other authors on this platform are. You guys are awesome and so talented!  
> This fic kinda came out of nowhere but I just kept writing and yeah. I might edit this later to make it flow better.  
> As a disclaimer, I do not condone the forced shipping of anyone. This is purely a work of fiction and very different from anything that happens in real life.  
> Please enjoy the fic and don't hesitate to leave your thoughts if you have any!  
> Much love <3  
> *IMPORTANT NOTE:* thoughts are marked by single quotes (' ') and dialogue is marked by double quotes (" "). Sorry, I couldn't get the thoughts italicized because I'm still figuring ao3 out lol

-  
The deal with family friends is that parents expect you to get along with each other. Whether you like it or not.  
That was the dilemma Jisung was currently facing. Although he was extremely mature for his age, he didn’t exactly have enough authority at age ten to convince his parents to stay home. Contrary to his appearance, he was an extreme introvert; the thought of meeting new people terrified him.  
When his parents told him about this particular gathering, he begrudgingly left his piles of sheet music and mini keyboard, which he’d been inseparable from for the last five years. His parents allowed and even supported him making music so young, but the one thing they wouldn’t let their shy child skip was a family gathering.  
Jisung wasn’t old enough to stay home, but he was old enough to pick his clothes out himself. He pulled on an enormous blue hoodie with Charizard on the center and some black skinny jeans. The hoodie was loose, reaching down to almost his knees, but Jisung liked the coziness; it felt like a hug and comforted him.  
To top it all off, he pulled on a black beanie. After glancing at himself in the mirror, he spun on his heel and walked out his bedroom door. His parents were waiting for him at the dining table.  
They looked up at him expectantly, and Jisung took this as a cue to sit down.  
“Where’s hyung?” Jisung asked, trying to lighten the mood.  
“He’s still getting ready. He just got back from swim practice; you know how long he takes,” his mother replied airily.  
Jisung nodded and waited for his parents to continue. He pinched his wrist under the table to try to calm his nerves.  
After a beat of silence, Mr. Han cleared his throat. “Jisung...today, we want you to try to talk to the kids at the gathering. Just try, for the sake of all of us.”  
His mother chimed in. “You really are a wonderful kid, Jisung. So thoughtful, so kind. We just want you to have someone other than us to share that with.”  
His parents looked at him with such love in their eyes that Jisung bit back the “I can’t” already forming in his throat. Instead, he quietly asked, “how many people are going to be there?”  
Jisung’s parents looked at each other as if they were calculating. Finally, Jisung’s mother spoke.  
“We think there will be a...good amount of kids. Probably four or five your age, and a lot of little ones as well. And there will be close to ten families.”  
Jisung looked down and his hands were shaking. The thought of meeting so many new people at once, being in such a crowded area...he really didn’t want to go now.  
Jisung’s father clearly noticed and reached over to take Jisung’s hands in his own. It was a motherly thing to do, but Jisung’s parents were both affectionate towards their children. Sometimes, Jisung even thought that his father was his mother and vice versa. It was one of the many things he loved about his parents.  
“Jisung-ah. Look at me.” Jisung raised his eyes. “You are going to be okay. Trust us. If you need anything at the gathering, anything at all, just come find us. Alright?”  
Jisung nodded and tried to smile.  
Suddenly his mother got up and stormed to the staircase. “Hey! How long are you going to take to get ready? We need to leave right now!”  
Jisung’s brother yelled back down the stairs. “I’m coming, mom! I just need to get my pants on.” A pause. “Oh wait, that’s my shirt. Eww, it’s so dirty now!”  
Mrs. Han gagged. “Alright, TMI boy. Hurry up!”  
Jisung couldn’t contain his giggles and it helped him loosen up. For the sake of his parents, he decided was going to try his very best to make friends today.  
-  
When Jisung’s mom parked at the curb in front of their address, Jisung held in a gasp. The house in front of them was huge, complete with a fountain and a balcony with a couple of couches on it. Jisung’s parents had said that the house belonged to the Lee family, who owned a medium-sized business, hence the affluent house. More cars were already parked around the house, so Jisung assumed that some kids were already here. He took a deep breath and opened his car door to walk to the front.  
The lady who opened the door for them was extremely beautiful. She wore expensive-looking earrings and a navy blue dress, but her expression was anything but a sneer. She looked so friendly that even Jisung would be willing to talk to her.  
“Ah, the amazing Han family!” she chirped in a sing-song voice. “Come on in!”  
Jisung’s mom chuckled. “Oh, please, Yuseon. It’s our pleasure.”  
The lady’s eyes zeroed-in on Jisung. She instantly smiled. “Ah, hello, what’s your name?”  
Jisung timidly looked up at her and answered, “Jisung”.  
“Jisung? Well, you look like you’re about the age of my own son, Minho. Maybe a couple of years younger. I hope you two get along well! Oh, you can go to the basement right now. Your brother here as well; I’m sure there are a couple of older kids down there.”  
Jisung politely nodded at her, and they all walked in.  
Jisung’s dad leaned down to him. “Go play with the kids, yeah? We’re right here if you need us.” He pointed to the enormous living room, filled with about three couples so far. Jisung nodded, pasting a small smile onto his face, and walked to the stairwell.  
As soon as he and his brother came out downstairs, everyone sitting around the couch looked them over. Jisung’s brother instantly recognized two of the people on the far end of the room and waved at them, walking over to their place. Jisung sighed. Unfortunately, he didn’t know anyone, so he would have to introduce himself. He walked up to the center of the place and cleared his throat.  
“Hi everyone, I’m Jisung. I hope we can all be friends!” He added a slight bow at the end. Two of the kids looked at him sourly, giving him a smile that didn’t quite reach their eyes. A couple others, however, rushed over to him. They clearly had been wanting to talk to him, but had waited to make sure Jisung was approachable.  
“Hi, Jisung! I’m Changbin, and this is Chan.” He pointed to the slightly taller kid next to him. “We were just listening to some of the latest rap music these days! Care to join us? I hope you’re into music.”  
For the first time since Jisung had arrived here, he genuinely smiled. “Are you kidding? I love music! I literally play on my keyboard all day!”  
“Dude, we’re wannabe musicians too!” the boy called Chan exclaimed. He had an Australian accent. As they started talking about the new production equipment that had come out recently and tested out each of their rapping and singing skills, Jisung felt more understood than he had in his entire lifetime.  
Chan was thirteen, and he already had a ton of experience. He had convinced his parents to buy him a good-quality guitar and spent a lot of time creating covers. Changbin was eleven, and he mostly focused on his rap skills, which were absolutely insane for a guy his age. They both already knew they wanted to do music when they got older but hadn’t had the courage to tell their parents yet. Jisung told them he was in the same boat.  
Jisung eventually had to get up in the middle of their conversation to go to the bathroom, so he excused himself. Walking down the wide hallway, Jisung realized that he had no idea which door to take. He looked back and forth and reasoned that if he accidentally walked into the wrong room, he could just quickly close it and try another one. He tried the door in front of him, and just as he put his hand on the doorknob, the door flew open from the inside. The impact knocked Jisung to the ground. Before he could figure out what had happened, a small cat walked onto his frame and stared at him from his chest.  
“Dori, wait-oh my gosh,” Jisung heard a voice say. Hands closed around the cat and Jisung felt empty air around him once again. A dark-haired boy peeked over into his line of vision and offered him his hand.  
As Jisung was pulled up from the floor, quite effortlessly, he noted, he shook his dizzy head and looked up at the boy who’d come out of the door. He was a few inches taller than him and had messy brown hair with perfectly proportioned facial features.  
Jisung didn’t know how long he’d been staring wide-eyed at this boy until the boy waved in front of his face.  
“Hello?”  
“Ah! Sorry,” Jisung whispered, bowing sheepishly. “I’m Han Jisung. Nice to meet you,” he said out of formality.  
The boy looked him over once and gave him a wide smile. “Lee Minho. And no, I’m sorry. I’m the reason you fell on the floor in the first place!”  
Jisung halfheartedly chuckled a little. 'So this is Mrs. Lee’s son,' he thought in his head. 'Funny. He’s...different than expected.' Admittedly, Jisung had thought that the son would be a rich, spoiled brat, considering he was an only child of business owners. So far, he seemed alright.  
Jisung shifted on his feet and put his hand on his neck, unsure of where to go from here. Fortunately for him, Minho started speaking. “You’re not much of a talker, are you? Lots of internal monologue, I bet.”  
Jisung looked up. ‘You’re like that, too?”  
“No. But I know a lot of people who are, and it’s perfectly fine. You want to meet my cats?”  
Jisung did want to, but then his bladder reminded him of why he was even here in the first place. “Actually, do you have a bathroom around here?”  
Minho’s lips formed an “o” in understanding. He cocked his head towards the inside of the room Jisung had tried to walk into. “There’s one in here that you can use.”  
After Jisung came out, he saw Minho laying on the floor with two more cats to make three total. “You have a lot of cats,” Jisung smartly observed.  
Minho actually had the audacity to roll his eyes and smirk. “Yes, a whole lot of three cats. Come sit; I’ll introduce you.”  
Jisung smiled nervously and carefully sat down next to Minho on the floor. Minho sat up and grabbed one of the cats--the biggest one.  
“This one is Soonie. Soonie’s the oldest out of the three, and the wisest. Well--not that old, only two.” Jisung reached out to pet it, and it purred deeply. “She likes you!” Minho exclaimed. “Well, then again, Soonie likes everyone, I guess.”  
He put Soonie down and picked up a similar-looking cat next. This one put up a bit of a fight before Minho could get it to stay still. “This is Doongie. Doongie’s...not exactly a ray of sunshine, but still deserves all the love in the world.” Jisung reached out to pet Doongie as well. Minho kissed the top of the cat’s head, and it hissed.  
Minho finally picked up his last cat. “This is Dori. Dori’s the sweetest, most hyper one ever.” Instead of waiting for Jisung’s hand, Dori leaped into his arms instead, and Jisung fell backwards for the second time that day. She walked all over his chest and meowed into his face. Jisung’s heart may have skipped a little at that.  
“Wow. Dori definitely likes you, probably almost as much as me.”  
Jisung scoffed. “Sure. Dori just likes to climb on top of me.”  
Minho smiled and took Dori off Jisung’s chest, allowing him to sit up. “I love these three a lot.” Jisung could definitely see that, and his heart was about to burst at how much love was in Minho’s eyes when he looked at the cats. “Oh, I forgot. How long have you been here?”  
Jisung suddenly remembered that he was here for a gathering. With Minho, it had just felt so natural that he’d forgotten. “Oh, for like half an hour before I came in here? I was talking to Chan and Changbin outside,” he said, hoping that Minho knew who they were.  
“Oh, Binnie and Chan hyung? They’re the craziest music heads you’ll ever meet, but crazy talented as well. I was actually about to come out there, but I was showering and then I had to feed these three,” he said, nodding at his cats.  
“Oh. That explains why I didn’t see you earlier.”  
“Yeah. You wanna go out and join them? The more, the merrier, right?”  
“Sure!”  
And indeed, it was the more, the merrier. The two older kids and Jisung's brother, seemingly unable to handle four adolescents goofing around together, decided to call it quits and took the stairs back to the first floor. Jisung laughed along with all these people as if he’d known them for years; it was like there was a Jisung-shaped mold in the group that was just waiting to be filled in. But even in their group conversations, Jisung found himself talking more to Minho than anyone else. Whenever this happened, Chan and Changbin looked baffled at how the two hit it off so early, but they shrugged and talked to each other instead.  
Jisung found out that Minho was twelve years old and learned dance. He seemed really passionate about it too, because every single time he mentioned his studio or a song he was learning, he got a sparkle in his eyes similar to the one Jisung got when he talked about music.  
Towards the end of the gathering, Chan and Changbin left first since their houses were quite far away from Minho’s. It was now just Minho and Jisung down in the basement, and Minho, noticing Charizard on Jisung’s hoodie, took the opportunity to show Jisung his video game collection. They played a few games, but eventually, their playful banter just turned into plain talking instead. And even though they were two years apart, Jisung could relate to every single thing Minho said.  
When Jisung’s parents finally called him upstairs to leave, Minho came to see him off too, their hands linked. The adults eyed the duo curiously but no one commented. When they both begged their parents for another playdate soon, however, Jisung’s parents' jaws dropped, but they readily obliged, seeing as their son seemed really happy. 

Jisung was ten years old; he knew what girlfriends and boyfriends and dating were. He also knew that he didn’t exactly fit the norm of society. He liked both boys and girls that way, but mostly boys. He’d figured that out when he was nine.  
Now, the way things with Minho were going, Jisung was certain they were only friends; nothing more, nothing less. Ok, well, they were best friends. After that day in Minho’s house, Jisung and Minho had met up at least once every week. It was convenient since their houses were only five minutes away from each other. Jisung showed Minho his music, and Minho showed Jisung his dance. (“You’re so good, hyung! Teach me sometime.” Minho had smirked and winked at Jisung. “Of course, Sungie. My pleasure”).  
-  
As the boys got older, they realized that their respective middle schools filtered into the same high school. Minho started there when he was fourteen, Jisung two years later. They were inseparable all those years, only growing closer and closer. All their friends, including Chan and Changbin, were tired of their antics at this point, convinced that they liked each other by the hidden glances and smiles Jisung and Minho threw at each other, but no one told either of them about this. So it went on, with Jisung and Minho dancing on the line between friends and lovers, not really caring to define themselves as long as they were together.

“Hey Jisung, hand me that yellow file on the table,” an eighteen-year-old Minho called out from his bed. Jisung had been sitting at the former’s desk on his phone, and he looked up momentarily to locate the file in question and carefully toss it to Minho. Minho mumbled a “thanks'' in response, and started thumbing through some of the documents in the file.

“That your college stuff?” Jisung lightly questioned. Too light, for a looming thing coming over them that could potentially tear them apart.  
“Yeah,” Minho replied, finally setting down the folder and looking at Jisung. “I had to make sure my Immunization records were in there before I scanned them to the colleges I’m looking at.” His face and voice betrayed no emotion, but Jisung knew him better than that. His eyes looked so dark and melancholy. 'But it’s just because he’ll miss home,' Jisung reasoned. Jisung had never allowed himself to even consider the circus going on inside his heart.  
Jisung didn’t know when or how it happened, only that it did. He’d fallen in love with his best friend, possibly from the time they’d first met each other. His eyes, his bright smile, and his laugh made Jisung’s heart flutter. He didn’t feel like he was expected of anything when he was around him, and he didn’t have to try his hardest in front of him since he was his best friend anyway. Minho felt like home.  
And now he was about to leave. Maybe forever.  
It wasn’t like Jisung had not known this was coming. He’d known for years; he’d just refused to acknowledge it and kept living in the moment until reality had come to slap him in the face. Now he just made it his mission to spend every possible moment with Minho before he left.  
Unfortunately, Jisung wasn’t very good at hiding his emotions from his face, and thinking about al this had caused him to become as red as a tomato. “Jisung…?” Minho questioned, cracking a small smile from the side of his mouth. “Earth to Jisung.”  
“Huh? Yeah hyung, sorry, just...spaced out for a bit,” Jisung quipped, painfully aware of his burning face and faraway gaze. He needed to stop being so obvious.  
“Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t we go to the ice cream shop down the street from here? No one will be there right now!”  
“Um, yeah, because it’s winter, you big doofus!” Jisung chuckled. When he calmed down enough to look at Minho, he swore he could see sparkles in his eyes and an unreadable expression on his face. Jisung forced himself not to blush again. 'He’s so handsome, there’s no way he’d prefer someone like you,' Jisung told himself, like he had a million times before. 'You’re delusional. Snap out of it.' But his heart still sought out the angel called Lee Minho.  
-  
Six months passed in a blur. Jisung was helping Minho pack up his belongings for the school he’d chosen to go to.  
And, by the grace of whatever was out there, the school was just downtown. Just an hour away. Jisung didn’t know if he deserved to feel relieved, though. The important bit was that Minho wouldn’t be living in his house that was a walking distance to Jisung’s anymore. He would be an hour away at college, probably drowning in work since he was so smart but so ambitious, not giving Jisung a second thought. Jisung was only going to be a junior in high school, anyway. Why would a college kid want to hang out with someone like him?  
As these thoughts swirled through his head, Minho sealed the last box with tape and lifted it onto a table with a grunt. He dusted off his hands, even though he had no reason to. Dramatics, Jisung thought fondly.  
“Well, that’s that. Thank god we got this packing done before tomorrow morning; my parents would’ve lost their minds,” Minho said with relief.  
“Yeah, that’s that,” Jisung whispered, trying to adopt a cheerful tone.  
Minho side-eyed him and cautiously lifted his hand to Jisung’s shoulder. “Hey. I’ll really miss you, Jisungie. Even if it’s just an hour away.” He slid his hand down Jisung’s arm, and Jisung swore he could feel a burn in every place Minho’s hand touched. Minho tenderly took Jisung’s hand and smiled. “Come visit me whenever, Sungie. I’ll always be waiting for you.”  
Jisung was so touched by this speech that his defenses kicked into overdrive. He awkwardly laughed and smacked Minho’s hand away playfully, his mind going into a haze. “Minho hyung, you’re always so dramatic and heavy. You’re going to college, yeah? Let’s be playful about it!” Jisung breathed, hoping his tone was joking enough to convince Minho. He angled his face away so Minho wouldn’t see the creeping blush that was probably all over Jisung’s face now.  
Minho put his hand on his neck and awkwardly chuckled too. “Yeah, let’s do that.”  
-  
A week later, Minho seemed to be settling well into his university. He texted Jisung every day, almost every couple hours with updates, and Jisung would be lying if he said his heart didn’t speed up every time his phone screen lit up. 'This is so embarrassing, a simple text can make you like this now? Get it together, Han Jisung,' he scolded himself.  
Everyone had told Jisung that junior year in high school would be the worst year of his life, but so far Jisung wasn’t feeling it. Of course, they were only about a month into the school year -- Minho’s college started several weeks later than school -- but Jisung had very strong A’s already while a lot of his friends’ grades were already slipping to C’s.  
“Hey, Jisung, will you tutor me sometime? Seriously, man, do you have some secret tactic we’re all unaware of? Do you perhaps...cheat?”  
“Shut up, Felix! Why would I cheat?” Jisung smacked Felix’s thigh while Felix, Hyunjin and Seungmin sniggered away. “Honestly, I just love school I guess.” Jisung quickly realized his mistake when his friends all gave him sick faces. “I-I mean, school is alright I guess...I just finesse everything I do, man.”  
“It’s alright Jisung,” Hyunjin sighed. “We all know you’ve been the nerd since second grade. So we’ll just let this one pass,” Hyunjin chuckled with a wink. Jisung gave him a death glare.  
“I’ll try to tutor you guys tomorrow. But if anyone falls out of line, that’s the end of the session,” Jisung warned. He didn’t want a repeat of the last time they’d tried this.  
They all nodded. “We’ll pay you in food,” Seungmin suggested.  
Jisung instantly perked up at this. “Deal!”  
-  
The tutoring session ended in chaos, but it wasn’t like Jisung wasn’t expecting that. As long as he got his food.  
After his friends left his house at around six, Jisung warmed up some leftovers to eat -- his parents were out tonight and wouldn’t be eating dinner with him.  
Jisung flipped onto his bed, throwing some clothes aside. He started scrolling through his phone absentmindedly, smiling a bit when he saw Minho’s new posts about him getting settled into his new dorm and college. He sighed when he glanced at the insane number of likes Minho already had on his picture -- it hadn’t even been two hours since he posted. Minho was just so unbelievably popular. How would he ever be able to measure up to that?  
Suddenly, Jisung’s phone lit up with Minho’s picture, causing him to drop his phone in surprise and let out a soft squeal. When he had calmed down, Jisung shook his head at his childish antics. He took a deep breath and lifted his buzzing phone from the mattress to answer it.

“Hey,” Minho’s raspy voice said.  
“Hi, hyung. What’s the occasion?” Jisung smirked, wanting to tease him at least a little.  
“You’re so cheeky. Anyway, I saw you active on Instagram and since it’s Friday, I figured we should chat a little, catch up with each other. We are best friends, after all,” Minho said matter-of-factly.  
Jisung scoffed. “Yes, but you knew I was active on Instagram? Wow, what a stalker. I know I’m popular, but I never expected you to watch me.”  
“And why not, Jisung?” Minho’s voice took on a serious tone. “Why wouldn’t I watch you?”  
The tips of Jisung’s ears were turning an angry shade of red, and he was so glad that this wasn’t a video call. He took an extra moment to make sure he wouldn’t say anything stupid. “Um, no reason…” Jisung was aware that Minho was fond of him, and he once again tried to convince his mind that anything other than platonic feelings was straight-up delusional. Minho was a popular guy who could probably have any girl or guy for that matter, and he wouldn’t settle for his childhood best friend.  
Jisung could hear Minho exhale from the other end of the line. “Ok, so how’s your junior year going so far? Definitely not hard for my smart Sungie, I bet.”  
Jisung tried to ignore the pet name and gave out a small laugh. “It’s not that bad. I have good grades so far, but the boys are suffering.”  
Minho chuckled lightly, understanding exactly who he was talking about. “Guess you’re gonna have to tutor them. And let me guess -- you already have, and it didn’t work at all.”  
“Oh my god, they literally just left my house. You always know exactly what’s going on, huh? It’s like we’re soulmates.” The word rolls off Jisung’s tongue so easily that he barely has time to think about what he’s saying. But as soon as he realizes, he claps his hand over his mouth, unable to believe what just escaped his mouth.  
“Yeah,” Minho whispered. “I believe we are.” And if Jisung could look into Minho’s eyes right now, he’s positive he would melt. He knew how dark and soulful they got when he said things like that.  
-  
Five months had passed. Since they were both getting so busy, Jisung and Minho’s conversations grew more sparse but no less enthusiastic. Minho had inevitably joined the dance team at his college, and he was popular enough that Jisung had heard at his own high school about the “hot new freshman dancer”. Jisung didn’t need a name to the title to know exactly who it was.  
Jisung himself was getting pretty swamped over with his classes, but it was nothing unbearable. He did work late nights until two or three a.m. in order to get all his work done and work on his music project, but enough coffee kept him going until weekends, when he just about crashed.  
Jisung tried to stop himself from sulking. It was already December, and he hadn’t gotten to see Minho for months. He was either always too busy or Jisung had something every weekend that he did come back home. No matter how hard they tried, their schedules just couldn’t fit each other in them.  
Jisung was determined to catch Minho this winter break, when he knew for a fact Minho would be coming back for Christmas. He’d already planned everything out by spreading all his deadlines before and after break to manage them easier and working extra hard the couple of weeks before the break. Essentially, Jisung was currently running on four coffees a day and pulled all-nighters three out of the five days of the week. He couldn’t be bothered to do anything on weekends, even to hang out with his crew.  
Jisung’s brain was also working feverishly at figuring out how to text Minho without coming off as clingy and desperate. But he also wanted to make sure he would be available during break. He missed his best friend.  
-  
When Jisung opened the door the next day, he wasn’t expecting the visitor.  
Seo Changbin looked up at him from underneath his baseball cap. When Jisung didn’t move for a solid ten seconds, Changbin huffed and said “Are you not going to let me in, Han Squirrel?”  
Jisung bristled at the infamous nickname and quickly moved aside. He knew better than to rile up Changbin.  
“I thought you were still at the studio. Hey, by the way, did you get the sample and track I sent you? I think it’ll be really good for the next project.” While Jisung, Changbin and Chan were very close, making up the three members of their music squad 3RACHA, they rarely saw each other outside the studio they’d rented out. Chan and Changbin, with their stellar extracurriculars and glowing letters of recommendation, had gained admission into the very same college Minho was at. Changbin had recently received his decision letter with his acceptance and everyone had cheered him on, but he already spent most of his time at the college through dual enrollment classes anyway. Since he and Chan were music majors, however, they’d gotten special permission to live off campus to be closer to the 3RACHA studio. Chan said it was only a matter of time before Jisung too gained acceptance and joined them at the university, but Jisung wasn’t so sure.  
Changbin’s sigh doused Jisung’s internal monologue. “Yeah, and we can talk about that later. I didn’t come here to talk about music.” Changbin leaned forward. “Jisung, you’ve seemed off these past few days. Don’t get me wrong, I know you’re perfect and you work your ass off at everything you do. But these days, you look more hollow and out of it than usual.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t want to freak on you and get all emotional, but the three of us, we’re bros, yeah? You can tell us anything and we won’t make fun of you for it. That’s what real bros are for.”  
Jisung nodded his head, trying to make it look as genuine as possible. He really was grateful for his hyungs and knew he could talk to them about anything but this...their childhood friend...that didn’t exactly constitute under “anything”.  
But then he realized that Changbin needed an answer and was not leaving after he got one out of him. Jisung pulled out a chair for Changbin to sit and flopped onto the couch himself.  
“So hyung...there’s this person I like.”  
“I’d figured that much out already, idiot. Who is it?”  
Jisung glared at him. “That defeats the whole purpose, doesn’t it?”  
“Ooh, I see, does Hannie like me?” Changbin smugly asked with a huge grin on his face.  
Jisung was this close to kicking him out and it definitely showed on his face, because Changbin instantly burst out laughing and backed his answer up with a “chill bro, I was joking. Tell me the real tea.”  
Jisung sighed. “Yeah, it’s a person, all right. It’s also a he,” Jisung added sheepishly, glancing at Changbin’s reaction. He’d never outright admitted his preference to him or Bang Chan, but he figured they probably had guessed by now given how close they were and how long Han spent poring over male K-Pop stars.  
Changbin didn’t give any reaction, he just nodded and motioned for Jisung to continue. He even smirked a little, and Jisung, in panic, wondered if he’d accidentally given something away. But he released the breath he’d been holding and tried to relax a little.  
“We’re friends with each other, and I’ve wanted to confess for the longest time. And maybe I’m being delusional, but I think he may be into me too. But like I said, probably delusional.”  
Changbin stared at him slack-jawed. When he didn’t speak for a solid ten seconds, Jisung’s nerves started coming back. “What’s wrong?”  
Changbin blinked and came out of his stupor. He gave out a short laugh and side-eyed Jisung. “Nothing, Jisung. Just nothing. I think you should confess. Yeah. That would be good for you. And whoever this mysterious person is,” Changbin said, wiggling his eyebrows.  
“You’re acting weird. Care to tell me why?”  
“Jisung...the world isn’t as huge as you think, and you’re dense as hell.”  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jisung shot back. He could feel blood rushing to the tips of his ears. Thank god his hair and beanie were covering them right now.  
“I think you might know. You’re dense, but not stupid.” He stood up to go.  
“Wha- You’re leaving already? But you just got here five minutes ago!”  
“I’ve heard enough of your love story. Take my advice and confess.”  
“Hyung!”  
Changbin shrugged and got up to leave, crossing in front of Jisung to the front door.  
“Again, Jisung,” he said, his voice softening now. “Tell me if you need anything, honest. But I’m being serious when I say you should tell this person. You don’t give yourself enough credit. I mean, if you weren’t my best bro and all…” Changbin blatantly looked Jisung up and down, and Jisung grabbed the nearest pillow and chucked it at his head.  
“Alright, alright, you squirrel. And I’m not done with you; meet me and Chan at the Starbucks across from the high school.” Changbin opened the door, stepped out into the cold December air, and closed it behind him, leaving Jisung sitting alone on the other chair in his living room.  
Well, he’d better get dressed to survive the bone-chilling temperature.  
-  
Another week passed, and Jisung hadn’t gotten so much as a text that didn’t say “Hi” or “What’s up” or “Good” from Minho. He understood; finals were approaching and there was no way either of them feasibly had the time to even have a small conversation on text. Jisung knew how hard Minho was working on his dance as well; other people he followed always had one of Minho’s dance covers on their stories. He was everywhere, but he wasn’t there with Jisung.  
Jisung knew he had to maintain his focus if he was to get into Minho’s college. The university had a ten percent acceptance rate, and Minho got in because he was the smartest kid Jisung knew, both book and street, and a recognized dancer. Chan and Changbin played state-level soccer and basketball, respectively, and Changbin had gone on a mission trip to help orphans in other countries. He’d set it up entirely on his own, bless his huge heart. All Jisung had going for him was his music and his internship at the space center. His grades and course load were almost average. He hoped his essays would save him.

Jisung had confidence in himself when it came to his music, but he was an introvert who seeked the approval of others. “Fake it till you make it” was literally Jisung’s spiritual motto.

But how long could he fake not being in love with his best friend? How long until Minho broke him for good?  
-  
It was like this had been waiting to happen.  
Jisung tried to hang on to Changbin’s words; he really did. But it wasn’t possible after all.  
There, smack dab in the middle of Jisung’s phone, was a picture of Minho. Minho and a girl. Minho kissing that girl on the cheek.  
And the caption read “Love you, Jeonwoo”.  
Jisung spent the next hour feverishly checking the tagged girl’s profile.  
'Pretty,' he thought. 'Smart, by the looks of her bio. Tall. Popular.' Everything he wasn’t.  
Her timeline even had a couple pictures of her and Minho facing each other, hugging each other, everything a couple would do. It was obvious now; Minho was already taken.  
Jisung should’ve expected this. He should’ve known that he was being delusional. Everything that Minho had shown towards him wasn’t romantic; it was brotherly.  
Surprisingly, Jisung didn’t feel anything inside him. He’d expected shortness of breath, maybe even a panic attack, but not...emptiness. That scared Jisung even more.  
Jisung numbly placed his phone on his nightstand and switched out the lights from his bed, glancing at the clock on his wall in the process. It read 9:45 PM.  
He still had an assignment to do before tomorrow morning, but that could wait. He didn’t think he could even get up now, let alone think for school.  
As Jisung finally closed his eyes and willed himself to rise up, above the Earth and stare at it from outer space, he felt calmness take over him. Whatever calmness could feel like after what had just happened.  
And since calmness got rid of numbness, a tear finally slid down Jisung’s cheek. Then another. And another.  
And another, until his breaths came short and his heart shattered like glass.  
-  
If it was possible, Jisung was working even harder than before.  
He was determined to erase every last shred of Minho from his daily life that he could, at least until his heart recovered. He deactivated his Instagram to avoid the influx of pictures and videos, and deleted Minho’s contact so he at least wouldn’t have to see his name when he did text him “Hi” and “Bye”. The volume of the texts he received and sent to Minho kept shrinking.  
His friends noticed his glacial disposition and only glanced and, if Jisung wasn’t around, spoke hushed words amongst themselves. But they never approached Jisung about any of this.  
It wasn’t until the week before winter break that Jisung finally remembered the plan he’d created with Minho weeks ago. Their parents were in on it too; the Lees would be coming over for a Christmas dinner in just a week.  
There wasn’t anything Jisung could do to get out of that. He’d have to try his best to act normal during the dinner. Four hours couldn’t hurt anyone.  
But there was no way Minho wouldn’t notice something off about him. The worst part about liking your best friend? They knew everything about you, from your daily disposition to your sense of humor to when something was wrong. And Minho’s radar was very strong when it came to Jisung.  
Jisung was correct, it turned out.  
At the dinner, the Lees were warmly welcomed. As Jisung and Minho took their spots at the end of the table, allowing the adults and Jisung’s older brother to sit at the front end, Minho tried to catch his eye and smile. Jisung gave him a weak smile back, but Minho’s smile faltered and his eyes deepened.  
'Stop that,' Jisung thought to Minho. 'How the hell am I supposed to even resist that?'  
In all his seventeen years of living, Jisung had never been as affected by someone as Minho.  
Minho nodded, half to Jisung, and probably half to himself. Jisung got the feeling that he was going to get grilled after dinner, and he really didn’t want to. Not when the reason was Minho himself.  
Unfortunately, dinner didn’t last too long, and all the adults retired to the living room to have a little tea and chat. Jisung’s brother had gone up to his own room, so it was just Jisung and Minho alone at the dining table. Jisung could hear the low murmur of his parents’ voices, but they were separated by a wall.  
Minho tentatively looked over at Jisung and scooted closer to him. “Sungie…”  
“I’m fine. Really. It’s just school.” If Jisung’s extremely curt reply bothered Minho, he didn’t show it.  
Minho extended his hand to Jisung’s shoulder, hovering above it as if he was just about to touch it, but changed his mind and retracted it at the last minute. Jisung didn’t know if he wanted him to have comforted him or not, and he hated himself for it.  
“Alright,” Minho whispered. “I’m sorry.”  
Jisung’s head snapped up to look at Minho. “Sorry? For what?”  
But Minho had already exited the kitchen to go to the living room with everyone else.  
When Jisung returned to the living room and chose the seat farthest away from Minho, he didn’t catch the dire glances that the adults gave each other at their normally inseparable kids.  
-  
For the next few days leading up to the New Year, Jisung didn’t receive a single text from Minho, and he didn’t send any himself either. It was like a mutual agreement to stop communicating. And as much as he didn’t want to talk to Minho because of his broken heart, he still yearned for his best friend.  
On the eve of December 31st, at about six p.m, Minho called.  
Jisung dropped his phone in surprise once again, his heart always speeding up when Minho called, even though he had deleted his contact. He’d memorized his phone number ages ago, anyway.  
Maybe it was that his heart couldn't take it anymore and he wanted to set the record straight with Minho once and for all. Maybe he really just missed his best friend. But whatever the reason was, he accepted the call and waited for the familiar voice on the other end, his heart in his throat.  
“Hello? Sungie?”  
“I-Yeah. It’s me. Hi.”  
Minho wasted no time. “Tell me what’s wrong. We need to talk, please, Jisung. I couldn’t stand it if we were like this for the New Year as well.”  
Jisung’s thought he heard yearning in Minho’s voice, but he reminded himself that he was delusional. That any thoughts about Minho that were not platonic were delusional. He forced the feelings down.  
“How’s college been?” Jisung asked, anxiously trying to change the topic.  
Jisung could literally hear Minho’s disappointment from the other side, but he decided to humor him for now. “College is good. I’ve met a lot of new people and everyone is really welcoming. It’s not the same without you, of course,” (Jisung blushed.) “But, I really do think I’m going to enjoy my four years here.”  
Jisung was already so tense that he couldn’t take it anymore. It was easier to blurt this out over the phone. “What about your girlfriend?”  
Minho spluttered. “What?”  
“Your girlfriend. The one who you posted a picture with. She’s really pretty, by the way,” Jisung said, trying to add airiness to his voice. “I think she’s a good fit for you.”  
“Oh, you mean Jeonwoo? Oh yeah, she’s a really good friend of mine now-”  
“It’s okay, hyung. You can tell me. We’re best friends, after all, right?” Jisung tasted acid in his mouth as he said the word “friend”. Before, he had been perfectly fine with using it, but now he knew the boundaries of a friend.  
“Jisung-” But Jisung but but the call. He couldn’t take it any longer.  
-  
The months went by in agony. Jisung couldn’t deny the fact that Minho did text him. He really had been trying to reach him, but Jisung ignored every single one. It was May now, and the texts had slowly become less and less until it was just once every two weeks. The summer would be the hardest time for him.  
Changbin seemed to have understood what had happened, considering that he had close contact with both Jisung and Minho. All he did was look at Jisung sadly and softly shake his head to himself before resuming whatever he had been doing.  
Jisung felt like the world was on the verge of swallowing him up until all that's left of him was a memory. Frankly, he probably deserved it. For now, he just miserably focused on studying for his final exams and expelled every other thought from his head. Ignorance is bliss, right?  
-  
Jisung should’ve seen the prospect of a summer gathering coming up, since Hyunjin, Felix and Seungmin apparently wanted to do something before entering their supposedly fiendish senior year next fall. Jisung, as usual, got dragged along in their plans.  
What Jisung had not known was that Chan had been invited by Felix and Changbin by Hyunjin. And naturally, the offer was extended out to Minho as well. Now, even if Jisung tried to get out of the plan, it was set in stone. He’d just have to try his very best to avoid Minho.  
One day as they were talking about the get-together on a four way call, Hyunjin mentioned another person joining the trip.  
“Yeah, there’s this guy in the grade below us named Yang Jeongin, he’s really sweet and I asked him to join us before his junior year.” There were words of assent from all sides. Jeongin was not a person they saw regularly, but whenever Hyunjin was with a boy with a wide smile and cat-like eyes, everyone had a bit more fun. 'Well, the more people, the less chance I have of interacting with Minho,' Jisung thought. He knew it was horrible, but he had to stay sane as well.  
-  
The hangout was to happen an hour away from Jisung’s house at the beach. Felix’s rich Australian family had already rented out a huge beach house there, and all eight of them would be using it for the night stay.  
The eight boys split up into two cars on the way there, four in one and four in the other. As soon as Jisung spied Seungmin, Chan, and Changbin getting into one, he dashed for it, making sure he got the last seat. It killed him a little to see Minho’s hurt expression from the window, but he swallowed his guilt down and tried to listen to the rest of 3RACHA showing off their music to Seungmin. There was even talk of featuring him as a vocalist on one of their tracks. Jisung was excited for that, he really was, but no matter what he did, his thoughts kept flying to a certain someone in the car behind them.  
The rest stop was another hurdle Jisung had to jump. Luckily, Minho had gone to the restaurant across the street to get some food, so it was easy to avoid him. When Minho came back, Jisung quickly got up from his perch on top of the other car to make a run for it, but Minho himself swerved away from Jisung and went instead to Chan and Changbin, who were sitting at one of the tables in front of the restrooms.  
“Okay, what the hell is going on between you two.”  
Jisung started so much that he almost fell off the hood of the car had it not been for Hyunjin’s long arm wrapping around his waist.  
“Easy there, we aren’t trying to break any bones on our little getaway.”  
“What the hell, Hyunjin?”  
“Forget your near-death experience. What is going on between you and Minho these days? You guys used to be inseparable. Soulmates. Half the people, including the rest of us, thought you had a thing going.” Hyunjin raised an eyebrow. “Unless…”  
Jisung smacked him so hard that if Hyunjin didn’t have better leverage than him, he would’ve gone flying off the roof of the car as well. “We were never dating. We were just friends.” Best friends, one of whom was in love, Jisung thought bitterly.  
“Jisung-ah. I know you’re an idiot when it comes to this emotional stuff, but that’s why you have me, your neighborhood drama queen.” Hyunjin flipped his neck-length hair that made anyone within a mile radius drool over him. “Minho hyung’s breaking inside. He’s so hurt that all his smiles are fake now, and he’s living his life robotically. Platonic or not, you really meant the world to him, Jisung. It’s not fair that your feelings for him take that away from him.”  
Jisung’s eyes widened at Hyunjin’s words, but Hyunjin gave out a short laugh. “Oh, please. Don’t act like I haven’t known you for the past who knows how many years and haven’t noticed you drooling over Minho hyung. You’re way too obvious that Minho hyung himself probably knows now.” He tapped his chin. “Actually, never mind, you’re both idiots. But anyways, sort this out with him on the trip, yeah? Everyone’s here to have a good time. Don’t let you and Minho be the reason it’s ruined.” He got up and jumped off the hood of the car without another word, leaving Jisung dumbstruck and pensive.  
First, Jisung felt horrible at Hyunjin’s accusatory words. He’d known that Minho would be sad, but to the extent that Hyunjin was describing it took Jisung’s own breath away. He couldn’t be the reason that the man he loved now had no life in his beautiful, shining eyes, no emotion in his captivating dance.  
But seventeen-year-old Han Jisung also had too much pride running through his veins to just go up to Minho and apologize. Pride guised as fear, to be specific. He honestly just wanted them to go back to the way things were before, minus his unnecessary feelings. Like hell that would happen.  
-  
When the kids got to their destination, Hyunjin, Seungmin, and Jeongin set to work annoying the latter and eventually chased him to the beach. Changbin and Chan propped up a couple chairs, an umbrella, and a mini table right behind the beach house, with Chan reading an English novel and Changbin pulling on his headphones to listen to beats. Jisung made a quick decision and ran over to Felix, who was busy unpacking all his belongings. As an Aussie, he had brought a lot to the beach.  
“Oh hey, Jisung,” Felix hummed. “Mind giving me a hand? And call Minho hyung from back there too,” he said. Felix clearly wasn’t aware of all the tension between the two.  
Jisung swallowed hard, but he didn’t have a good reason not to do what Felix said; if he did tell Felix, he would want to know the entire story. Jisung wasn’t ready to drop that entire load of baggage just yet.  
Jisung shuffled over to where Minho was leaning against the beach house, taking a couple filter selfies probably for his Instagram. As soon as Jisung thought of that, however, the picture of Minho and the girl resurfaced in his mind and he shook his head in denial.  
Minho spotted him when he did that and put away his phone.  
“Jisung,” he said in a tentative tone.  
Jisung avoided his eyes. “Felix said he needs your help.” Then he turned on his heel and almost dashed back to the other side of the house.  
If he had seen Minho’s dark, sad eyes before he’d run off, he might’ve stayed.  
-  
They ended up skirting around each other like that for the rest of the day, with nothing more than silence between them save for a few gruff nods. By dinnertime, everyone, even Jeongin had noticed something off with the group dynamic. No one wanted to comment on it, but Chan gave Jisung a look that told the latter he was in for a talk after dinner.  
To Minho’s credit, it seemed that he was trying his best to lighten the mood with his quirky sense of humor. In one particular moment, something he said was so funny and full of nonsense that even Jisung couldn’t resist laughing out loud. The entire table went silent then, with Minho’s eyes wide on Jisung. Jisung shrunk down in his seat and played with his food before the conversation inevitably started again, and he let out a sigh of relief. But after that moment, Minho’s eyes never quite left Jisung. 

“Alright, Jisung,” Chan said, shutting the door behind him as he walked into his room. “Tell me what’s going on.”  
Jisung looked up from the table he was at and slowly put down his phone in front of him. He leaned forward to put his chin on his hands and avoided Chan’s gaze. “Nothing.”  
Chan sighed. He walked to the table and pulled out the chair on the other side. “Don’t act like you and Minho haven’t had some kind of falling out,” he grunted while sitting down. “I know the two of you so, so well. Minho’s harder to read, but he’s been off too. So tell me. What happened?”  
When Jisung stayed silent, Chan reached out and took Jisung’s hand in his. “You trust me, don’t you? We’ve been friends for years and years now. I only want what’s best for you, Jisung, so please tell me.”  
Looking into Chan’s pleading eyes, Jisung knew he was being genuine. Chan was like the unofficial mentor and parent of their squad, always wanting to solve the problems and encouraging everyone else to do their best.  
After taking a deep breath, he relayed the entire story to Chan, from their childhood to the present, and Chan nodded, taking in every word. After Jisung finished, Chan let out a huge breath and laughed a little.  
“Shit, Jisung. This has been going on for as long as I’ve known you, and you’ve never told me. Although, you didn’t need to, because I already had a hunch. Oh, don’t act surprised, Jisung,” Chan said while looking into Jisung’s wide eyes. “Everyone knows. You guys aren’t slick.”  
“Changbin said the same thing!” Jisung huffed.  
“Well, Changbin has known you for as long as I have too. And although I hate to admit it, it’s not like the two of us haven’t talked about whatever’s going on between you and Minho.” Jisung’s face turned red with the realization and Chan cleared his throat. “Are you still conflicted or are you clear with what you want? That’s the most important part.”  
“Hyung, I-I’m not sure about everything. The only thing I’m sure about is that I’m scared. I’m scared that my feelings are real, I’m scared that they aren’t. I’m scared of coming out to my parents and the rest of the world. I’m scared of this breaking the squad’s dynamic.” He took a shaky breath before saying his last fear. “And I’m scared of losing my best friend.” On the word “friend” Jisung’s voice broke and silent tears began to stream down his cheeks.  
“Hey, hey. Jisungie.” Chan got up from his chair and came around to hug him. “It’s alright. You don’t need to be sure just yet. But the one thing you do need to do right now is communicate. Minho’s hurting too, but he isn’t going to admit that so easily. That’s why you’re the one who needs to break the ice,” Chan insisted. “Show him how much you care about him, romantically or not. Show him that you still want him around. Because from the looks of it, I don’t think he even believes that you do.”  
“I want to, hyung,” Jisung choked out. “I really do. I just don’t know where to start.”  
Chan got up and offered a hand to Jisung. “You’ll know when the moment’s right. You just can’t hesitate, alright?”  
Jisung took the hand and got up from his chair. “Alright.”  
“Good. Now, as far as I know, Minho’s sitting outside on the chairs. He’s the only one there. If you get this taken care of tonight, Jisung, then we can all enjoy the rest of this trip, yeah?”  
Jisung sniffled, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do. “Yeah. Thanks, hyung.”  
Chan smiled. “Don’t thank me. Thank yourself when this is over. And, uh, if everything goes well, try not to get too...happy on this trip.”  
Jisung lightly punched him. “Zip it, Chris.”  
-  
When Jisung walked over to the glass sliding doors, he saw Minho watching the fading colors of the sunset, a cup of coffee in his hand. His left side faced Jisung, and the sight of him against the dark and colorful background made Jisung’s throat hitch. Minho really was beautiful; Jisung had just been too dense this entire time to understand that it wasn’t just a friendly thought.  
Jisung silently slid open the glass door. “Coffee before bed, hyung? That isn’t such a good idea.”  
Minho’s head whipped around at the sound of the voice and widened in surprise and hesitant joy that Jisung had finally said something to him that wasn’t a grunt or a curt remark. “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” he said, his lips tugging up just a little. “It’s only like eight anyway. You know how late I sleep.”  
Jisung gave a light chuckle, for the sake of lightening the atmosphere if nothing else, and walked over to the other chair. “The sunset’s really pretty tonight.”  
“Yeah, it is. But some things in this world are prettier than the sunset.” Jisung glanced over to look at Minho and quickly averted his eyes when he realized the other was watching back. The action was mutual.  
Jisung internally sighed. 'To hell with it,' he thought. “Hyung. I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting these last few months.” He cringed at the word. Not days, not weeks, but months. If Minho didn’t forgive him, he couldn’t even blame him.  
Minho stayed silent, so Jisung took that as a sign to continue and took a shaky breath. “I know how much I’ve probably hurt you during that time, but the truth is, I want you back. I really want you back; I can’t live without you. Please come back to me.” The words weren’t everything he wanted to say, but they were all he could manage to splutter. The tears started flowing freely once more, and as the remaining streaks of paint in the sky faded into an indigo, it was silent, save for the crash of ocean waves and Jisung’s sniffles.  
'Alright, I’ve said it now. I’m bare,' Jisung thought bitterly. 'Now it’s his choice.'  
Minho made a sudden motion of getting up from his chair that made Jisung whip around in his direction. “Jisungie.” He walked over to where Jisung was sitting and knelt in front of him. “Look at me.”  
Jisung lifted his head. His face was probably red and puffed up since the tears were still flowing, but Minho’s eyes were somehow infinitely soft. Minho took Jisung’s face in his hands and started speaking. “I want you back, too. God, I’ve missed you so much. So, so much.” He lifted his hand a little to wipe the still-flowing tears away from Jisung’s face. “Don’t cry, Jisungie. I’m here,” he said with such tenderness that it was all Jisung could do not to burst into tears again. He didn’t deserve Minho at all. Jisung knew they’d have to talk through all of this eventually, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it right now. Right now, he only saw Minho.  
So maybe it was the emotion of the moment, the fact that he was literally out in the open with Minho. Maybe his mind thought that he should get this over with while he had the courage to do so. So leaning forward, he spoke in a whisper down to where Minho was kneeling. “I’m about to do something stupid. Push me away if you want.” He leaned even closer, and he could feel the other’s breath against his own mouth.  
He half-expected Minho to push him off right away, to jerk back and run away. And he would’ve ruined everything once more. But Minho did exactly the opposite. In fact, he knelt straighter and put one of his hands on Jisung’s thigh while slightly moving closer on his own. Jisung swore there was no way that Minho couldn’t hear his erratic heartbeat right now, but he brushed it off for now. He could let the embarrassment overcome him later.  
When their lips finally met, a sudden warmth suddenly spread throughout Jisung’s body and he sighed in relief. He never realized how much he had wanted this until now.  
They were obviously in a very awkward position, and to fix this, Minho stood up from his position, pulling Jisung up by his hips, not once leaving his lips. Jisung felt Minho’s lips moving against his, trying to deepen the kiss, and Jisung happily obliged. He even opened his mouth and Minho didn’t waste a second putting his tongue to work to explore. Minho’s arms suddenly tightened around Jisung’s waist and the sudden action ended in Jisung gasping out loud and throwing his arms around Minho’s neck.  
All Jisung could say was...Minho was amazing at this. His legs had already started turning into jelly and he would’ve fallen over by now if it wasn’t for Minho’s strong arms steadying him.  
Minho suddenly broke the kiss and went for Jisung’s neck, leaving a trail. Soft sounds escaped from Jisung’s lips as Minho worked up to his jaw.  
“You have no idea,” Minho murmured against his skin, “No damn idea how long I’ve wanted to do this, Jisungie. It drove me crazy.” He sucked the sensitive skin just under Jisung’s ear and Jisung let out another gasp, his hands now fisting Minho’s shirt. He breathily whispered “Hyung...Mi-Minho hyung” each time Minho’s lips touched a new place.  
Minho pulled back then, seemingly regaining his senses. Looking into Jisung’s eyes, he threaded his fingers through Jisung’s hair and Jisung leaned into the touch.  
“God, you’re so beautiful, Jisung,” he hummed.  
Jisung honestly doubted that, but if it came from Minho’s mouth, he’d accept it anytime.  
Then, cutting through the pleasant atmosphere like a knife, the thought came to Jisung’s mind. He took a step back.  
“Hyung…” he started. “I-you have a girlfriend, don’t you? Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry for coming upon you like that-” Minho placed a finger on Jisung’s lips.  
“Jeonwoo is my cousin. In fact, I’m actually pretty surprised you two haven’t met yet.”  
Jisung looked at him dumbstruck. “That’s what I thought...so she’s just your cousin?”  
Minho nodded, a slight smile on his lips.  
'What the actual hell. I am SO stupid,' Jisung thought sheepishly. 'The fact that none of this would’ve ever happened if it wasn’t for my dumbass…'  
“Jisung? Earth to Jisung.”  
“Huh? Yeah? I-uh, I was just…”  
Minho took Jisung’s hand. “Jisungie, don’t feel bad. You didn’t know. And to be honest, I think the fact that you distanced yourself from me made me realize how much I needed you in my life. And when you avoided me…” Jisung cringed very hard at that, “I realized that my feelings weren’t platonic because I had been confused myself. If that didn’t happen, we still would’ve stayed best friends, but who knows how long it would’ve taken for this to happen.” He gestured at their now intertwined hands and Jisung turned tomato red, remembering what had happened just a few minutes ago.  
“I love you, hyung.” Jisung whispered.  
“What was that? I can’t hear you.”  
“Hey!”  
Minho raised his eyebrows. “What?”  
Jisung took a deep breath. “I said I love you, Minho!”  
Minho laughed and reached up to ruffle Jisung’s hair. “And I love you too, Jisung,” his voice adopting a serious tone. “More than you’ll ever know.” He pecked his lips fondly, and when he smiled, Jisung swore his face shone brighter than every star in the universe. 

As they walked back into the house, hand in hand, they found the entire group waiting for them on the living room couch. Everyone, even Jeongin, started clapping and hooting.  
“What the actual hell?” Jisung fumed, his face turning cherry red for the umpteenth time that night. “You guys watched us?” Minho only shook his head and chuckled silently to himself. His gaze, however, told the group that they were dead.  
“Ew, we didn’t watch you guys,” Changbin corrected. “Chan just told the rest of us that you guys had finally started talking again and wiggled his eyebrows. All of us got the message; unfortunately, you guys aren’t very slick.”  
“We’ve all had to suffer your bullshit for seven goddamn years. At least, I had to, because I knew from the beginning,” Hyunjin mused. Chan and Changbin nodded their assent.  
Jisung rolled his eyes back into his head so far that he could literally see stars. “I hate everyone in this room right now.”  
“Even Minho?” Jisung made a move to punch Hyunjin without letting go of Minho’s hand, so he was dragged along. Hyunjin, unfortunately, skillfully and gracefully dodged Jisung’s fist. Curse his long limbs.  
“Chill, you guys. Minho and Jisung, we were just getting ready to watch a movie together here actually. You guys weren’t the only reason we gathered here,” Chan clarified. But something in the fact that no one was excited for the impromptu movie night except Jeongin falsified that statement. “Anyway, go grab a blanket from that closet if you want. Don’t take too long,” Chan said innocently.  
Jisung’s head was already forming a plan to make them pay for this. 

A couple “discreet” kisses later, Minho and Jisung were snuggled up in a huge throw blanket at the far left side of the couch, their arms around each other. All the others kept looking over at them in a playfully disgusted manner, but all Jisung could think about was his racing heart (yes, even now) and the fact that Minho’s head was on his shoulder.  
The movie was far less entertaining than usual because Jeongin had chosen Iron Man. Jisung unfortunately had the entire script practically memorized.  
Jisung clearly wasn’t the only one who was bored, however. He turned to look at Minho and the latter was staring right back at him.  
“Breathtaking,” he murmured to Jisung, his eyes never leaving his face. Jisung looked anywhere but into his eyes because he swore he would melt on the spot.  
Eventually, his eyes grew heavy, and before he knew it, he was fast asleep in Minho’s embrace.  
-  
“Jisungie, wake uppp,” Minho pleaded, peppering kisses onto Jisung’s face and neck. Jisung opened his bleary eyes and shook his head right before looking up at Minho. He froze. Minho was literally on top of him.  
Well, he can’t say he hasn’t fantasized it before (and the thought made blood rush to his face). But how did they even get here?  
“Uhm,” Jisung cleared his throat, “What time is it?”  
“It’s like six. Oh, don’t be like that,” he chuckled while hearing Jisung groan. “We slept at like nine last night because of that movie. We might as well get up now.”  
Jisung obliged as he was pulled up from the couch and taken outside through the glass doors once again.  
“Why are we- OH. Oh my god.” Jisung’s hands flew up to his face. “Minho-ah...it’s beautiful.”  
“I knew you’d like it. I just had to show you,” Minho said with a knowing smile.  
In front of them, the sky was painted with pink and golden streaks as the sun began to peek up from the sea. Gulls flew, cawing at each other in the early morning, and the entire ocean shimmered. Jisung subconsciously reached for Minho’s hand and breathed in deeply.  
'If this is what forever feels like, sign me up,' he thought.  
-  
EPILOGUE

New Year’s Eve was not going as planned for Jisung.  
“Hyung-ah!!! I need to finish my college applications right now and apparently, none of my transcripts were sent to the schools I’m looking at! What am I going to do? I have six hours left!” The eighteen-year-old was pacing back and forth in his bedroom, hands running through his hair. The stress was about to consume him.  
“Take it easy, Sungie. You’ve only lived eighteen years, I am much more experienced than you,” Minho said, playfully enunciating the word “much”. “That happened to me too; you can just write the office an email about the issue.”  
“But hyung! What if that reduces my chances of getting in! They’ll think I’m irresponsible! Or, or-”  
“Jisung,” Minho breathed, “You’re so adorable. If I could get into a top college, you can too. You're so much smarter and more talented than me and I just know that your recommendations are glowing.”  
“Hyung, you know that’s not true.” Jisung fiddled with the strings on his sweatshirt. He’d seen Minho’s transcripts. He was the smartest one in his class, and by a lot. But Jisung knew Minho meant every word he said, and quite frankly, he still wasn’t used to all the praise Minho constantly showered him with.  
“Aw, are you getting flustered in that cute way you do again?” Jisung could literally hear Minho’s grin.  
“I will block you.”  
“Alright, alright. Tell you what, Jisung. I’ll be there in like twenty minutes.” Minho cut the line and left Jisung standing in the middle of his room with a dumbfounded expression.

“Surprise surprise!” Minho cheered. The twenty-year-old had brought cookies for Jisung in his hands, but his tank top was where Jisung’s attention was. It was practically see-through.  
“You shouldn’t have come, it’s literally New Year’s Eve! Go celebrate! I mean, what kind of college makes their applications due on the Eve? It’s complete and utter bullshit-and…” Jisung was spluttering to take his attention off of Minho’s well-defined chest. But unfortunately, Minho knew him better than almost anyone else in the world. And Minho understood.  
“Oh?” Minho came closer with a smirk. “You like what you see?”  
“I-it’s so cold outside!” Jisung huffed. “You have no regards for your health. How could you come here dressed in that?” Jisung half-yelled.  
“I literally had a coat on when I was outside, and it’s not my fault your thermostat is set to like eighty degrees.”  
Jisung still had some arguments. “My parents saw you in that? What would they think?” Jisung knew his parents were aware that they were dating, but the fact that Minho was wearing something that suggestive... Jisung covered his face with his sweater-paws in embarrassment.  
“Your parents already know about us, remember? In fact, I think they’ve known for a while.” Minho ran a hand through his hair. “Even though my parents took longer to accept us, we’re really lucky we have such open-minded families, no? I don’t think I could’ve lived without you.”  
Jisung knew Minho was saying all this because they were his true feelings, but Minho really enjoyed seeing the red spread on Jisung’s face as well. “And when I think about what happened exactly one year ago on this day…”  
“Stop, Minho,” Jisung said, his eyes close to filling with tears. “I was an idiot back then. That was the worst New Year of my life because of how guilty and hurt I felt. But it was all my fault. If I had just listened to you…” Jisung’s voice broke off and he sighed while Minho enveloped him in a hug. “I don’t deserve you, Minho. You should be with someone better.”  
“Never say that,” Minho hissed fiercely. “Never. You are perfect, Jisungie. That was a lapse in my judgement too; I obviously underestimated your feelings. I underestimated myself. And while that broke my heart, I honestly did think it might’ve been time to give up, to let you be with someone you actually loved.”  
Jisung choked, his eyes filling with tears for real this time. Even though they’d talked this out before, he couldn’t help but get emotional. “You’re the only one I’ve ever loved.”  
Minho sighed, a sound filled with contentment, and pulled Jisung closer. “We both are idiots, aren’t we. I guess both of us are better versions of ourselves around each other. You make me better, Jisung.”  
After they broke the hug, Jisung made the mistake of looking down at Minho’s tank top again. “You better do something about that...monstrosity,” Jisung said, ruining the sweet moment. He vaguely gestured at the offending garment.  
“Ok fine, my tank top can be held off until we submit your applications,” Minho slurred suggestively. His sudden duality had Jisung on the floor.  
“Yeah, your tank top whatever,” Jisung mumbled, in an effort to keep his own sanity.  
-  
“Alright, you’ve checked it over enough times. I think it’s good, Jisung, you need to send it. It’s almost thirty minutes till midnight.”  
“One more, time, hyung.”  
“Jisung. Come on, now. I don’t want you to work until 11:59.” Minho was sitting right next to him and wrapped his arms around Jisung’s waist. “And by the way, your shorts and oversized sweater really aren’t helping.”  
Jisung was very aware that Minho’s gaze was crawling over his legs and his sweater, and he was also aware of how small and cute he looked. And okay, maybe he’d purposely changed into these clothes when they’d taken a break at 10:30 to eat some dinner, right after Jisung’s parents had left for a New Year Party. They wished their son luck for his applications and eyed the two of them, obviously thinking they’d be doing much more than the applications. But they had left without further comment.  
It took every ounce of Jisung’s self-control to channel his full focus on his laptop right now, but that was probably for the best--what he did in the next few minutes would determine if he got to go to the same university as Minho or not. He didn’t admit this to Minho, of course, but his university was his first choice. It was relatively close to home, and it had an excellent music program. And, it had Minho, who was the most convincing factor, anyway. He had to get in.  
A few minutes of last-minute poring over essays later, Jisung decided. “Alright, I’m gonna do it,” Jisung breathed. Minho hummed, kissing and nipping at Jisung’s collar bone, his arms still wrapped around him.  
Jisung shuddered and eyed the clock; it said 11:48 PM. It was now or never. He clicked submit for all four of the applications, and confetti shot across his screen four times to show him that the colleges had successfully received his materials.  
“Yes,” Jisung breathed. “They’re finally gone.”  
“Congrats, baby,” Minho mumbled. Jisung turned to look at him on his shoulder and scoffed.  
“I worked so hard for that, and that’s all I get?” Jisung’s tone was teasing, but his heart was beating a million miles a minute.  
That seemed to rile up Minho. He let go of Jisung’s waist and came around to face him head-on. Jisung shrunk a little in his chair, a little intimidated by Minho’s intense (and hot) stare. He’d obviously been holding back this entire time.  
“What else do you want, Sungie?” Minho breathed, leaning close.  
Jisung felt the ghost of Minho’s breath on his face and closed the gap even more. He closed his eyes. “I want you.”  
Minho smashed his lips against Jisung’s, the breath getting knocked out of the latter as he was pinned against his chair. Minho’s dominance left Jisung out of breath and it was all he could do not to melt on the spot. He felt Minho licking his lower lip, asking for entrance, which Jisung happily gave. They were both breathing desperately and panting when Minho finally pulled back for air, a thin line of saliva still in between their lips.  
“You taste like cookies, Sungie,” Minho rasped. His eyes darkened at the sight of Jisung, who was already a mess, his lips red and raw and his face flushed. Both of their chests rose and fell in unison.  
Before Jisung had the chance to respond, Minho dove right back in and went for Jisung’s neck this time, biting hard and causing Jisung to cry out. Jisung’s arms tightened around Minho’s neck. He soothed the bite with his tongue and soft kisses.  
“I love it when you mark me,” Jisung gasped out. “I-I love you.”  
“I love you too, Jisungie,” Minho said with a soft smile. He went back up to Jisung’s lips for a soft and deep kiss this time, full of emotion. He slipped his hand under Jisung’s back and leaned down to place another one below his knees, easily picking up in one smooth motion, lips never leaving his. He spun him around a little, and both of them broke the kiss and laughed their heads off.  
Minho walked a couple of steps towards Jisung’s bed and gently laid him down there, climbing on top of him. They stared at each other, stars in both of their eyes, before Minho leaned down again, capturing Jisung’s lips, and slid his hand underneath Jisung’s sweater. Jisung moaned a little at the feeling of Minho’s warm hand on his stomach and chest, and Minho went up even further, pulling the sweater off Jisung. He stared and stared, eyes crawling over Jisung’s slim but firm form, but Jisung impatiently tugged at Minho’s tank.  
“Off,” he breathed.  
Minho happily obliged.  
Jisung’s breathing turned heavy as he took Minho in, desire clearly reflected in his eyes. He attempted to lean up and pull Minho back down on him, but just then, the digital clock on Jisung’s desk gave out a loud beep, striking twelve and startling them both.  
Minho smirked and pinned Jisung’s hands against the mattress.  
“Happy New Year, baby,” he drawled, with dark and lustful eyes. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” And he leaned down once again.  
It was definitely the best New Year either of them had ever had.  
-  
“You ready?” Minho said with a smile, his arm around Jisung in encouragement.  
Jisung took a deep breath and pushed it out. “As ready as I’ll ever be, hyung,” he murmured. They were standing just outside Jisung’s first class. The first day of Uni wasn’t supposed to be this scary, but Jisung couldn’t help it. What if he messed up on the first day? What if the teachers didn’t like him? What if he didn’t have any friends?  
“And you are thinking about too many “What if” questions,” Minho chuckled. Jisung shushed him but marveled at exactly how well they knew each other. It was like they were true soulmates, although Jisung didn’t want to think about the future too much. It had only been a year since they started dating.  
“I just hope it’s everything I’ve dreamed about,” Jisung whispered.  
Minho ruffled Jisung’s hair. “It will be. The campus is wonderful, the professors are actually good, contrary to popular belief, and you’re smart. Perfect combination. You’ll have the time of your life.”  
Jisung smiled. “I guess I will if you’re there with me, hyung.”  
Minho’s eyes widened. “Woah, wait,” he said, removing his hand from Jisung’s hair to hold both of them out in front of him. “Did you just...say something cheesy to me?”  
“Hyung!” Jisung screamed. Minho guffawed and attempted to run away, but Jisung caught him and stuck his finger in front of his face. “Don’t ever say something like that, or else I’ll never speak to you again.”  
Minho quickly nodded and made the “zip your lips and throw away the key” motion with his hand, grinning at Jisung the entire time.  
Jisung nodded and tried to act strict, but couldn’t help the little smile on his face.  
“I think I’m ready, hyung,” Jisung said.  
Minho smiled. “My little baby is grown up.”  
“I’m literally two years younger than you.”  
Minho refused to back down. “My big baby has grown up.”  
Jisung rolled his eyes and leaned in for a peck on Minho’s lips. “See you soon, hyung.”  
And as he walked into class and Minho watched him with pure tenderness, they both thought the same thing.  
'I'll stay by your side forever.'

**Author's Note:**

> Whew! Thanks for making it to the end; I hope you enjoyed the story! Let me know your thoughts/anything really below! <3  
> Follow me on Twitter: @skzthusiasttt


End file.
